Why Agencies Need to take Good Care of their Surrogate Mothers

As surrogacy agencies, we have a noble goal: to create life and help families grow. This requires that our bottom-line mission be to the health and wellness of families everywhere. This includes our surrogate mothers and their respective families.

There are some surrogacy agencies who do not treat their surrogate mothers with the care and respect they deserve. These agencies can be hotbeds for exploitation. We believe that women should not be seen as merely “wombs for rent”, but that they should be considered as who they really are: women with families, careers, dreams, and feelings. Our surrogates are altruistic women who want to bring joy to the lives of others. They are unselfish, giving, and deserve the best possible care for themselves and their families.

So here’s exactly why we take care of our surrogate mothers. Because we – and thousands of families across the globe – would not be the same without these amazing women.

1. Taking care of surrogate mothers is taking care of the children

We all have the same goal: to bring forth healthy and happy children into this world. We want to give our children the best possible start in life. Agencies who don’t prioritize the surrogate mother are simply not prioritizing the health of the children. Agencies have the responsibility of ensuring their surrogates are taken care of mentally and physically.

The child’s health and development begins before birth and is closely tied to the health and wellbeing of the surrogate mother. Research shows that a child’s risk of developing emotional or behavioral problems doubles from 6% to 12% if the surrogate mother is stressed, anxious, or depressed. This is because in times of maternal stress, the fetus is exposed to cortisol, the stress hormone. So of course, agencies doing all they can to improve the mental health status of the surrogate mother will always benefit the child.

2. Agencies who don’t take the best possible care of surrogate mothers can expect less successful outcomes.

The goal of an agency should be for a 100% positive outcome rate. A successful agency is one where both intended parents and surrogate mothers come back for more because of their overwhelmingly positive experience. Here at New Life, many intended parents come back to us so they can give their first child a sibling. Many surrogates and egg donors come back for a second experience, because their first experience gave them so much joy by bringing other families happiness. That’s what it’s all about for us – happy families, and helping people help each other.

Agencies who don’t take the best possible care of their surrogate mothers end up with lower success rates. They end up with less healthy pregnancies where the surrogate mother is not properly cared for. These pregnancies can be marked by high blood pressure, stress, and higher incidences of mental health issues. When an agency steps in to provide state-of-the-art health care and psychological services, they ensure that the surrogacy experience will be a positive one for all parties involved.

Everyone in the contract – surrogate mothers and intended parents alike – need to feel like their needs are being tended to. They need their questions answered, their anxieties allayed, and their health prioritized.

The major reason why prospective parents choose an agency to begin with is to make the entire process smoother. Intended parents have been through enough already without having to worry about everything the surrogate mother needs. The agency’s job is to step in and make this easier on both parties. We make sure everyone has what they need. We make sure that the surrogate mothers are well tended to so that they can focus on what really matters with the intended parents: the joy of bringing a healthy baby into the world.

4. Agencies are the first line of defense against the exploitation of women.

This is something we feel strongly about. Here at New Life, we are advocates for women. We believe in improving the lives of women everywhere – whether it’s through providing them a complete family, providing the satisfaction of helping others, or helping them boost their own family’s income.

We make sure that all our surrogate mothers are signing up on their own free will. We look into her motivations, how her family feels about surrogacy and perform reference checks to ensure that surrogacy is the best possible decision for both the woman and her family. Agencies can make all the difference in being a force of good in the lives of women across the globe.

How We Think About Surrogate Mothers

For us, it’s all a matter of how we think about the surrogate mothers. We don’t just see them as numbers in the system. We don’t just see them as a means to an end. We see them as the full, dynamic, beautiful people they are – people who want to bring joy and love to the lives of others. We see them as the caring, giving women they are.

Before agreeing to work with a surrogate, we meet her in person, evaluate her home environment, perform reference checks, screen her for emotional, mental, and physical health, and interview her about her priorities, desires, and motivations. Our surrogates are mentally and physically healthy. They have already experienced pregnancy and childbirth and know what to expect. They are mothers already to children they are raising, so they understand the incredible bond between parent and child, and these women want to give that joy to intended parents.
Here at New Life, we know that surrogate mothers play an important role. They have incredible responsibility in bringing life to families, and we have the incredible responsibility to ensure their utmost respect and care. We provide psychological counseling, consistent guidance, and excellent medical care. Rest assured that here at New Life, we prioritize our surrogate mothers. They are the reason we can bring forth the miracle of new life for families across the globe.

NEW LIFE UKRAINE

Network of New Life Fertility Clinics has helped over 7,000 Surrogacy babies come into the world and find their families. With a large database of both national and international egg donors and surrogate mothers, affordable and effective care, and compassionate communication, we are committed to providing every parent-to-be with a stress-free journey that successfully leads them to their ultimate goal: a healthy baby.